View source for Symi

{{Short description|Greek island in the Aegean Sea}}
{{Infobox Greek Dimos
|name = Symi
|name_local = Σύμη
|type = municipality
|image_map = 2011 Dimos Symis.png
|image_skyline = {{multiple image
 |perrow             = 1/2/2/2
 |border             = infobox
 |total_width        = 300
|image1             = Colorful houses symi.jpg
|image2             = House Symi Greece.jpg
|image3             = Neoclassical houses in Symi.jpg
|image4             = Boats in Ano Symi. Symi, Greece.jpg
|image5             = Panormitis3.jpg
|image6             = Stairs in Symi.jpg
|image7             = Simi 7.jpg
|color              = white
}}
|caption_skyline    = '''Clockwise from top:''' A view of [[Ano Symi]], Gyalou Square, the Monastery of the Archangel Michael Panormitis, Annunciation Church, stairs in [[Ano Symi]], the Port of Symi, a traditional [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical house]]
|coordinates = {{coord|36|35|N|27|50|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_min = 0
|elevation_max = 617
|periph = [[South Aegean]]
|periphunit         = [[Rhodes (regional unit)|Rhodes]]
|pop_municipality   = 2603
|area_municipality  = 65.754
|mayor = Eleftherios Papakalodoukas<ref name=mayor>{{Cite web |url=https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9297/ |title=Municipality of Symi, Municipal elections{{snd}}October 2023 |publisher=[[Ministry of the Interior (Greece)|Ministry of Interior]] |access-date=2024-05-08 |archive-date=2024-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508163446/https://ekloges.ypes.gr/current/d/home/en/municipalities/9297/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|party = 
|since = 2003
|population_as_of = 2021
|postal_code = 856 00
|area_code = 22460
|licence = ΚΧ, ΡΟ, ΡΚ
|website = [http://www.symi.gr symi.gr]
}}

'''Symi''', also transliterated as '''Syme''' or '''Simi''' ({{langx|el|Σύμη}}), is a [[Greece|Greek]] island and [[Communities and Municipalities of Greece|municipality]]. It is mountainous and has the harbour town of Symi and its adjacent upper town [[Ano Symi]], as well as several smaller population centres, beaches and areas of significance in history and mythology. Symi is part of the [[Rhodes (regional unit)|Rhodes regional unit]].<ref name=Kallikratis>{{Cite web|url=http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|title=ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text|language=el|publisher=[[Government Gazette (Greece)|Government Gazette]]|access-date=2021-09-07|archive-date=2021-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023193509/http://www.et.gr/idocs-nph/search/pdfViewerForm.html?args=5C7QrtC22wGYK2xFpSwMnXdtvSoClrL8-SrPzKAEPjjtIl9LGdkF53UIxsx942CdyqxSQYNuqAGCF0IfB9HI6hq6ZkZV96FIukI0UzcPsWCK0LpLhpa7rhiWB4R5ntTnoWw7U8E1Amg.|url-status=live}}</ref>

The economy of Symi was traditionally based on the shipbuilding and [[sponge]] industries. The population peaked at approximately 22,500 during the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Hellander
  | first = Paul
  |author2=Kate Armstrong
   | title = Greece
  | publisher = Lonely Planet
  | year = 2006
  | page = 535
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NusCmIGiCg8C&pg=PA535
  | isbn = 978-1-74059-750-0}}</ref> Symi's main industry is now tourism,<ref>{{cite web
| title = Symi Island: A Hidden Gem for Your Holidays
| website = De Yachting
| url = https://deyachting.net/blog/symi-island-a-hidden-gem-for-your-holidays
| access-date = 2025-01-19
| language = en}}</ref> and in 2021 its permanent population had declined to 2,603<ref name=census21/> with a larger population during the summer.<ref name="field"/>

Symi is known for its unique [[shrimp]]s. Named "Symi's shrimps", these are small and are pan fried and eaten whole, shell and all.

==Geography==
[[File:Symi island in Greece.jpg|Symi island seen from above, with [[Turkey]] in the background|thumb|left]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File: Symis island.jpg| thumb |240px| left | Symi island]] -->

Symi is part of the [[Dodecanese]] island chain, located about {{convert|41|km|0|abbr=off}} north-northwest of [[Rhodes]] and {{convert|425|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Piraeus]], the port of [[Athens]], with {{convert|58.1|km²|1|abbr=out}} of mountainous terrain. Its nearest land neighbors are the [[Datça]] and [[Bozburun Peninsula|Bozburun]] peninsulas of [[Muğla Province]] in [[Turkey]]. Its interior is characterised by small valleys, and its coastline alternates between rocky cliffs, beaches and isolated coves. 

Its main town, located on the northeast coast, is named Symi. The lower town around the harbour, is referred to as Yialos, and the upper town is called Horio or [[Ano Symi]]. Other townships are Pedi, Nimborio, Marathounda and Panormitis. Panormitis is the location of the island's famous monastery which is visited by people from all over the world, and many Greeks pay homage to St Michael of Panormitis each year. The island has 2,603 inhabitants, mostly engaged in tourism, fishing, and trade. In the tourist season which lasts from Easter until Panormitis Day in early November, tourists and day-trippers increase the number of people on the island to as much as 6,000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.symigreece.com/damer.htm |title=An Ethnography of Tourism on Symi: Research Report, Sean Damer (2003) |access-date=2015-10-02 |archive-date=2010-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312112142/http://www.symigreece.com/damer.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> 

In addition to its many historical sites, the island's isolated beaches, many reachable only by small boats, are popular with tourists. The '''Municipality of Sými''' includes the uninhabited offshore islets of Gialesíno, Diavátes, Kouloúndros, Marmarás, Nímos, Sesklío, and Chondrós. Its total land area is {{convert|65.754|km²|3|abbr=out}}.<ref name=stat01>{{cite web|url=http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf|publisher=National Statistical Service of Greece|title=Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)|language=el|access-date=2016-12-09|archive-date=2015-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212047/http://dlib.statistics.gr/Book/GRESYE_02_0101_00098%20.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
In [[Greek mythology]], Symi is reputed to be the birthplace of the [[Charites]], and takes its name from the nymph [[Syme (mythology)|Syme]]. According to a different account attributed to [[Mnaseas]] in [[Athenaeus]]' ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'', [[Glaucus]] named the island after his wife Syme, when they settled the island.<ref name="Athenaeus">{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • Athenaeus — Deipnosophistae, Book VII.294C–306D |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Athenaeus/7D*.html |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> In antiquity, the island was known as '''Aigli''' and '''Metapontis'''. [[Pliny the Elder]] and some later writers claimed that the name was derived from ''simia'', "a monkey".{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', the island is mentioned as the domain of King [[Nireus]], who fought in the [[Trojan War]] on the side of the Greeks and was described as the most handsome man in the Achaean forces, after Achilles.<ref>''Iliad'' book 2, 767-71</ref> [[Thucydides]] writes that during the [[Peloponnesian War]] there was a [[Battle of Syme]] near the island in January, 411 BC, in which an unspecified number of [[Sparta]]n ships defeated a squadron of Athenian vessels.

Little is known about the island before the 14th century. Archaeological evidence indicates that it was continuously inhabited, and ruins of citadels suggest that it was an important location. It was part of the [[Roman Empire]] and later the [[Byzantine Empire]],<ref>[http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Byzantio_Eng.html Byzantine Symi] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608203353/http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Byzantio_Eng.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}</ref> until its conquest by the [[Knights of St. John]] in 1309.<ref>[http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Ippotes_Eng.html Conquest by the Knights] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608203451/http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Ippotes_Eng.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}</ref>

===Early modern: Hospitaller and Ottoman eras===
{{Main|Knights Hospitaller|Frankokratia|Ottoman Greece}}

This conquest, fueled by [[Knights Hospitaller|the Knights]]' interest in shipping and commerce, launched several centuries of prosperity for Symi, as its location amidst the Dodecanese made it an important waypoint for trade until the advent of [[steam engine|steam-powered]] shipping in the 19th century. In 1522, Symi was conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire]], along with nearby [[Rhodes]], but it was allowed to retain many of its privileges, so its prosperity continued virtually uninterrupted.<ref name="under">[http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Turkish_Eng.html Symi under the Ottomans] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608203530/http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Turkish_Eng.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}</ref>

Under the [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottomans]] the island was called ''Sömbeki''. Symi was noted for its sponges, which provided much of its wealth. It attained the height of its prosperity in the mid 19th century. Many of the colorful [[neoclassicism|neoclassical]] mansions covering the slopes near the main city date from that period.<ref name="under"/> Although Symiots took part in the [[Greek War of Independence]] of 1821–1829, it was left out of the new Greek state and remained under Ottoman rule.<ref>[http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Epanastasi_Eng.html Symi in the Greek Revolution] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608204021/http://hellas.teipir.gr/Thesis/simi/english/Epanastasi_Eng.html |date=June 8, 2011 }}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Symi 2004.JPG|thumb|The port in [[Ano Symi]]]]
[[File:Symi houses Greece.jpg|thumb|Houses on the island]]

The island, along with the rest of the Dodecanese, changed hands several times in the 20th century. In 1912, the [[Dodecanese]] declared independence from the Ottomans to become the Federation of the Dodecanese Islands, though they were almost immediately occupied by Italy. The island was formally ceded to Italy in 1923, and on 12 October 1943 it was occupied by the Nazis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nazi Occupation of Symi reported |newspaper=[[The Evening Independent]] ([[St. Petersburg, Florida]]) |page=6 |date=1943-10-15 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e40LAAAAIBAJ&pg=2942,4580647&dq=symi |access-date=2009-09-20 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> At the end of [[World War II]], the surrender of German forces in the region took place on Symi to the [[United Kingdom|British]]. The island was occupied by Britain for three years as a result.<ref>[http://www1.rizospastis.gr/story.do?id=2811391&publDate=2005-04-17%2000:00:00.0 Οι ανοιπότακτοι της Σύμης - Βρετανική κατοχή στα Δωδεκάνησα, Ελευθέριος I. Διακογιάννης] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724130734/http://www1.rizospastis.gr/story.do?id=2811391&publDate=2005-04-17%2000:00:00.0 |date=2011-07-24 }}</ref> Symi became part of [[Greece]] in 1948.

The island has become popular with tourists from abroad, especially British, French and Italians,<ref>{{cite news |last=Field |first=June |title=Home thoughts from ... Symi, Greece; Utter peace except for the church bells |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=2003-11-16 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2003/nov/16/buyingpropertyabroad.observercashsection |access-date=2009-09-20}}</ref> and is now the permanent home of about 120 non-Greek residents,<ref>{{cite news |last=Zahariadis |first=Giorgos |title=Euro Mayor on Symi (English Translation) |newspaper=[[Ta Nea]] |date=2006-08-24 |url=http://www.symigreece.com/sg/August06_01.php |access-date=2009-09-20 |archive-date=2015-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508013515/http://www.symigreece.com/sg/August06_01.php |url-status=dead}}</ref> some 50 of whom are British.<ref name="field"/> The influx of tourists has led to the restoration of a great number of homes, many of which were destroyed during [[World War II]]. These restorations, by law, have to conform to "guidelines laid down by the Greek culture ministry's Archaeological Service". Between 1998 and 2006, it is estimated that the price of a "ruin" on Symi increased fivefold.<ref name="field">{{cite news |last=Field |first=June |title=New life amid the ruins of a Greek isle |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=2006-09-05 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/3352387/New-life-amid-the-ruins-of-a-Greek-isle.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121212128/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/3352387/New-life-amid-the-ruins-of-a-Greek-isle.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-01-21 |access-date=2009-09-19}}</ref> The growing population of EU expatriates has led to demographic as well as political changes, since [[European Union|EU]] citizens are allowed to vote in local elections and have attempted to exert influence on the island's politics. Opinions on whether this is a sign of growing integration differ.<ref>{{cite web |title=Editorial: A Case of Integration? |publisher=SymiGreece.com |date=2006-11-18 |url=http://www.symigreece.com/sg/editorial_sep.htm |access-date=2009-09-20 |archive-date=2008-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202115252/http://www.symigreece.com/sg/editorial_sep.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

There has been considerable restoration of many houses in Symi in the past decade, by architects including Haris A. Kalligas and Anastasia Papaioannou, both winners of the [[Europa Nostra]] Awards for their work on Symi and elsewhere in Greece.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}

On 5 June 2024, British TV and radio presenter [[Michael Mosley]] went missing on the island while on holiday with his wife. After four days of searching, his body was found on 9 June, on the rocky slope outside the wall of a private resort called Agia Marina. It appeared that he had taken the wrong path sometime after leaving the town of Pedi.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Inwood |first1=Joe |last2=Rhoden-Paul |first2=André |title=Wife of Michael Mosley pays tribute to kind husband |website=BBC |date=9 June 2024 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kk9gvw8l0o |access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-date=9 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609082230/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kk9gvw8l0o |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Helena |last2=Topping |first2=Alexandra |title=Michael Mosley: TV presenter found dead on Greek island, wife confirms |website=The Guardian |date=9 June 2024 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/09/body-of-man-believed-to-be-tv-doctor-michael-mosley-found-on-greek-island-authorities-say |access-date=9 June 2024 |archive-date=9 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240609142525/https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/09/body-of-man-believed-to-be-tv-doctor-michael-mosley-found-on-greek-island-authorities-say |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Culture==

===Landmarks===
* The Monastery of the [[Archangel Michael]] Panormitis<ref>[http://athos.edo.gr/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=351 Αρχάγγελος Μιχαήλ ο Πανορμίτης στη Σύμη] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928014614/http://athos.edo.gr/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=351 |date=2007-09-28 }}</ref> is a [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] [[monastery]] built on the southwest coast in the early 18th century. It overlooks a bay, and is still inhabited by monks.
* The Kastro overlooks the main town of Symi, [[Ano Symi]]. It was built by the Knights of St. John as an expansion of a Byzantine castle on the same site, many parts of which are still visible. There are remnants of an ancient citadel, on which the two later castles were built.
* The municipal clock tower which was built circa 1880
* The War memorial in the harbour consists of a monument, "the Dove of Peace", in front of a bas-relief sculpture of a [[Trireme]]
* The town of Symi has thirteen major churches and dozens of chapels, some dating back to the [[Byzantine]] era.
* The village of Nimborio has surviving ancient [[Pelasgian]] walls and a set of twelve domes remaining from workshops used by artists.
* In late 2020 the renovated Historical Museum of Symi reopened.<ref>https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/09/23/opening-of-the-renovated-historical-museum-of-symi/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206164014/https://www.archaeology.wiki/blog/2020/09/23/opening-of-the-renovated-historical-museum-of-symi/ |date=2024-02-06 }} (retrieved 06/02/2024)</ref> The collections include many artefacts found by the early 20th-century Symian antiquarians Michael and Niketas Chaviaras, sons of Demosthenes Chaviaras (1849–1922), himself an important figure in local historical research. In the 1980s, the Chaviaras family archive was donated to the museum.<ref>N. Mastrochristos and A. Katsiotis, 'The cult of Saint Kerykos in the Dodecanese. The evidence of the Rhodian Peraia', in P. Pederson et al. (eds), ''Karia and the Dodecanese. Cultural interrelations in the southeastern Aegean''. V. II, Oxford, 2021, p. 17.</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Panormitis3.jpg|Panormitis Monastery
File:Simi 1.jpg|Panoramic view
File:House Symi Greece.jpg|Colourful house 
File:Stairs in Symi.jpg|Stairs of the upper town
File:Neoclassical houses in Symi.jpg|A square
File:Simi 7.jpg|A church
File:Simi, dziedziniec klasztoru Świętego Michała - 14 września 2008 r..JPG|Panormitis Monastery
</gallery>

===Festival===
Since 1995, Symi has hosted the Symi Festival during July to September.<ref>[http://www.symi.gr/en/main.php?id=festival Symi Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928181508/http://www.symi.gr/en/main.php?id=festival |date=2007-09-28 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.symifestival.com/ |title=Symi Festival reports and reviews |access-date=2022-07-22 |archive-date=2013-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722144839/http://symifestival.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> This festival was founded by Greek political journalist, Yannis Diakogiannis,<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2006 |title=Décès du journaliste Yannis Diakogiannis |url=https://www.info-grece.com/content/deces-du-journaliste-yannis-diakogiannis |website=www.info-grece.com |language=fr |access-date=8 June 2024 |archive-date=8 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240608135619/https://www.info-grece.com/content/deces-du-journaliste-yannis-diakogiannis |url-status=live }}</ref> who established it in the birthplace of his father Eleftherios C. Diakogiannis. Since its inception, it has attracted many Greek musicians, [[Katy Garbi]], [[Eleftheria Arvanitaki]], [[Glykeria]], [[Alkistis Protopsalti]], [[Dimitra Galani]], Miltos Pasxahildis, etc., to perform at free open-air concerts in the main square of Yialos, and includes many dance and theatre events.

===Sister cities===
In 2008, [[Tarpon Springs, Florida]], a town with a high percentage of [[Greek American]]s, established a sister city-relationship with Symi. Located on the [[Gulf Coast of the United States]], Tarpon Springs attracted many Greek sponge fishermen to [[Florida]], for the "sponge rush" at the beginning of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite news
  | title = Symians in Tarpon Springs are Symi's Extended Family
  | newspaper = The Symi Visitor
  | date = Spring 2009
  | url = http://issuu.com/allanjhunter/docs/spring09/1
  | access-date = 2009-09-20
  | archive-date = 2011-12-23
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111223200808/http://issuu.com/allanjhunter/docs/spring09/1
  | url-status = live
  }}</ref>

===Local media===
The island has one local amateur AM radio station, Radio Symi, broadcasting on 1485&nbsp;kHz.

==Notable people==
*[[Costas Valsamis]], sculptor
*[[Ioannis Diakidis]], writer

==See also==
*[[List of traditional Greek place names]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Symi}}
{{Wikivoyage|Symi}}
* [https://symi.gr/ Official website] {{in lang|en|el}}

{{Dodecanese Islands}}
{{Kallikratis-South Aegean}}
{{Aegean Sea}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of the South Aegean]]
[[Category:Populated places in Rhodes (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Symi| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Greece]]
[[Category:Dodecanese]]
[[Category:Landforms of Rhodes (regional unit)]]
[[Category:Islands of the South Aegean]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Populated places in the ancient Aegean islands]]